Hi, this is David at SoccerHelp. The SoccerHelp Program grew out of my efforts to improve my Recreational and Select soccer teams. It started in 1995, went online in 2001 with about 150 pages of information, and now has over 1,000 pages on Premium and about 200 pages on "Basic". We believe SoccerHelp is the most popular soccer coaching site in the U.S. " in 2007 we will have about 2.3 million visitors and over 20 million hits. Over the years I"ve had the benefit of corresponding with hundreds of coaches who tried my ideas and gave me feedback. That has allowed the Program to continue to improve. About 1998 I was looking for a way to motivate my players and found the patches. They were being sold as a novelty item and I used them as a motivational tool with excellent results. Over the years we have added more patches and refined their use as a motivational tool. They really work " read the Testimonials below if you doubt it " there are over 100 more letters from coaches on the Patch Testimonials page. Premium Members can get 10% off on patches and DVDs by using the re-usable coupon on Premium.

Your players will improve faster and your team will win more games if you do the following:

1. Improve the Important Skills. The most important skill is dribbling. The next most important skills are passing and receiving (I recommend you teach "Aggressive Receiving - it can make a huge difference). After that is positioning and movement off the ball for support on offense and defense (yes, that is a learned skill that can be taught and practiced). The worst way to try to teach these skills is by scrimmaging - there aren't enough touches per player, the better players dominate, and it doesn't provide a good opportunity to practice individual skills in a controlled way. The second worst way is "Drills". Drills don"t involve pressure or competition. Drills don"t prepare players for a real game " in fact, Drills teach players to play slow. The best way to train your players is by using SoccerHelp Practice Games. Our Practice Games are efficient and involve competition and pressure. To quote Anson Dorrance, one of the greatest coaches ever: "Competition is key to developing players. The only practice environment in which you truly develop a player is a competitive arena." Coach Dorrance"s views are described in our review of his excellent DVD set Training Championship Players and Teams. Our Practice Games train players to play fast and under pressure. Our Practice Games are 200% to 300% more effective because coaches can achieve 200% to 300% more with the same amount of practice. But even if you practiced twice as much with Drills, your results would be inferior. Our Practice Games are simply a better way to train and you can't achieve the same results using Drills. Don't confuse our Practice Games with silly or ineffective "games" - they're totally different. I developed the SoccerHelp Practice Games - they are unique, copyrighted and you won't find them any where else. Our Practice Games teach legitimate soccer skills, minimize lines, are simple to set up, maximize touches on the ball, and get proven results. Remember: Drills train players to play slow - SoccerHelp Practice Games train players to play fast and under pressure. Premium explains how to demonstrate correct technique and how to teach correct technique during the Practice Games so you minimize the time spent on boring drills. Your players will learn by playing the Games. This approach works because the players using correct technique will perform better in the Games. All you need to do is point out to your players that if they use correct technique they will do better in the Games, and they will try to do as you ask because they want to win. The Games are fast so they will quickly see a direct cause and effect - those who do as you recommend will see their scores improve, and those who don"t will lose the Games to those who do. If you want to see the results that can be achieved, watch the Video Clips of what Coach Doug has achieved with 3 and 4 year olds. The testimonials below are from coaches of ages 4 to 16. Read the Testimonials below and you will see what we mean by Proven Results.
2. Motivate Your Players to Hustle, Try Their Best, Attend Practice, and Want to Win. I'll bet you're thinking "I agree, but how can I do that?" You're right, it isn't easy, but we have the perfect solution: Use our motivational iron-on patches. You're probably skeptical, but read the Testimonials below and reach your own conclusions. The results speak for themselves.
3. Choose a Formation and Style of Play that Gives Your Team a Chance to be Successful, and Teach Your Players the Basics of How to Shift and Position to Support on Offense and Defense. At SoccerHelp, we've learned that it is important to be realistic about your player"s abilities, toughness, aggressiveness and speed. Most Rec teams can't play like Select Teams. The formation and Style of Play you use should be based on your player's abilities and speed, the size of the field (especially the length), and the ability and speed of your opponent. The number of "weak" and timid players you have is also a practical consideration. For example, if you put timid players at Fullback, you will give up lots of goals, and if you "Push Up" slow Fullbacks when you attack, you are vulnerable to giving up easy goals on "breakaways". By "Style of Play" I mean do your Fullbacks "Push Up" when you attack or "Defend Deep", and do you play a "Possession Style" of attack, a "long-ball style"", or a combination (for example, by using long kicks to clear the ball from your Defensive Half of the field and playing a "possession/combination passing" style on the "Attacking Half"). Positions usually aren't stationary, they are fluid ... players shift toward the ball, Push Up when their team attacks and "recover" to defend when the opponent gets the ball. Positions are "relative" because, except in the Attacking Third, right side and left side players (such as Right Fullback and Left Fullback) usually stay on their side of the field, and Fullbacks are usually closer to their own Goalkeeper than Midfielders.... this ensures that you have "coverage" of the important parts of the field and that you don't have "bunching up" or players roaming all over the field. SoccerHelp Premium explains formations, Styles of Play and how to teach movement and positioning so your players can quickly function as a team. Soccer is a team sport, and the team that functions best as a team will usually win.
4. Use the Tips and Tactics that coaches have proven can quickly make a big difference. There is over 150 pages on Premium about Formations and an additional 100 pages about Styles of Play and Positions, and much of it consists of letters from coaches and my replies to those letters. In the letters, coaches describe their players and how many play on the field (such as 4v4, 5v5, 6v6, 7v7, 8v8, 9v9 or 11v11) and my reply gives my thoughts and recommendations. The information is based on "real-world" situations. There are also Tips and Tactics that most coaches have found can quickly make a big difference " some examples that can make a difference of 2 or 3 goals per game are: "Coaching Rule No. 3", using a "Stopper", "Defending Deep", and teaching basic Shifting and Positioning "Rules". These Tips and Tactics can quickly make a huge difference in how your team plays and result in better play and success.

A Few of the Hundreds of Testimonials we Have Received:

"I can't say enough about the tried and true results of using these patches! This very same team that lost ALL 8 games in the fall, won 7 out of 8 games this spring!!! The kids wanted those patches!!!" Coach Gayla, Missouri

"I can't tell you how many smiles these patches put on so many faces each week!" Coach Tammy, USA

"Using the SoccerHelp concepts and the incentive patches, my U-8 team just finished the season 8-0-0. This is the same team that last Fall was winless and only scored one goal. I am just about to place my third order for more patches, so man did they work!! The kids were more concentrated at practice, gone was the crying after getting knocked down, and their positioning improved almost overnight." Coach Dan, Georgia, Premium Member

"We had gone 5 games without a win (0-4-1) when I started using SoccerHelp Premium in mid-season. The next game we tied. Since then we have won 4 straight games, outscoring opponents 17-2. The kids can't get enough of the SoccerHelp method. Neither can I." Coach Don, California

"I HAVE NEVER SEEN A BIGGER MOTIVATIONAL RESOURCE THAN THE SOCCER PATCHES! The season before I started coaching the team was 3-3-2. Last season we were 7-0-1. I had never played or coached soccer before and the "better coaches" were absolutely upset. We have moved up to U11 and we have begun the season 2-0. I cannot thank you enough!" Coach AB, Girls U-11, USA, Premium Member

"In my first season ever as a coach, we have gone 7-1-1 thanks to SoccerHelp Premium, and have beaten the toughest team in our division twice despite their coach having coached most of his girls for 5 years." Coach Michael, Arizona, USA

"You're the best site there is, all your drills work and the kids want to play even after the training is finished. The soccer patches are brilliant; they are a brilliant idea and award." Coach Dave, England

"I'm 41 and have played and coached soccer for many years. I didn"t think you could teach me anything new, but boy was I wrong!!! I"ve used your free Practice Games in my last 2 practices and the results were truly phenomenal. I can"t wait to use the Premium games." Coach Jon, USA

"Our regional director says I'm the most requested coach she's ever seen. SoccerHelp is the reason!!!! Every practice game, etc. came from SoccerHelp Premium....WELL DONE!" Coach Mark, Michigan

"The patches have led to perfect attendance both at practices and games. My girls are 7 and 1 this season. For a guy who 2 years ago knew nothing about soccer it's a great feeling." Coach Jim, USA

"Before I started using SoccerHelp my girls had a 2-9 season. Using tips from SoccerHelp Premium we went 4-4-1 the second season, then 13-0, and then 11-2, winning our tournament the past 2 seasons." Coach Tony, GA, USA

"Last season we lost most of our games. I joined Premium and purchased patches not knowing what to expect. I did everything Premium said and we went undefeated during the season and second in the tournament winning 4 games and losing the final game to a team that had not lost in 4 years, except to us during the regular season. Coach Dave, U-10 Rec, VA, USA"

"We probably lost our 1st game by 20 goals. Since that time we have not lost a game. AND, each week a new girl scores a goal!!!! ...amazing. I owe all of this to SoccerHelp. The practice games are AMAZINGLY EFFECTIVE!! MY Girls are so engaged, and I have parents tell me that their girls cannot wait to go to practice. " M.J. USA

"I have learned more in the two weeks since subscribing to Premium than I learned in seven years of coaching. I searched the web long and tediously before signing up." Coach Rion, South Carolina, USA

"The SoccerHelp system works. I played soccer for 14 years, but coaching kids is different. We're U-12 playing U-14. We've won our last 3 games by a combined 14-6 after losing our first 2 and every game last Spring. Thanks." Coach Chad, USA

"This season I started using the SoccerHelp patches. From day one, it has been a success. Yesterday one of my weaker players scored her first goal, ever. It was awesome. Everyone on the team is now aggressive and hungry to play and earn the patches. The patches work! We are 4-0-1 with 22 goals for and 4 against for the first half of the season. Your tactics and Practice Games have made coaching easy." G.W., MO, USA

"Last year we played at U-14 and switched to the 3-2-3-2 formation as described in Premium. We went 17-0-2!!!" Alan, Member since 2005

"I have been a member of SoccerHelp Premium for about 2 years and so far, everything has worked. I have coached 2 different Rec teams, one 8v8 and one 11v11, and my record is 22-1-1 (the single loss was my very first game so it almost doesn't count!) There is no way I could have done it without Premium." Matt, USA

"I subscribed to SoccerHelp Premium 3 months ago. As of this point we are 9-0 scoring 58 goals while giving up 11." Dave, USA, U-10 Rec

"My U10 team is undefeated and has clinched 1st place in our AYSO region. We have scored 46 goals and allowed only 6 goals in 7 games. I'm the only coach using your patches in our region and my players love them. It's fun to see their reactions and watch them run around and talk about which color they received that week." Steve, Premium Member since 2006

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